google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, September 1, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Advertisements

Sep 1, 2017

Friday, September 1, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: B and O, Reading, Pennsylvania and Short Line. LINK. White rabbit, white rabbit.

In this edition of  'Jeffrey stumps the crowd', we have the double letter RR added to known phrases - that simple. Of course rooting out that SOY SAUCE, BUS TICKETS, BAY LEAVES and SQUARE FEET might have a common denominator is where the thought comes in. The reference to Aaron Burr opened the door for me. Unlike many JW creations, we have a reveal - not completely helpful - but it is Friday. 55 theme spaces leaves some room and we get AERATES, ALIGHTS (not yesterday's ALIT?) , NEAREST, YOGA MAT, BARBARIAN and SETS A TASK. The theme:

17A. Really bad béchamel? : SORRY SAUCE (10). Béchamel (a white sauce) and soy sauce could not be any further apart, but I guess if you burn Béchamel it might look like soy sauce.

20A. Unpaid stack for scofflaw Aaron? : BURR'S TICKETS (12). I find Burr to be a very interesting character, especially as portrayed in Gore Vidal's NOVEL.

35A. What happens at the end of a Manilow concert? : BARRY LEAVES (11). This was the hardest because while I got the Barry part - which made me secure in my thinking the RR connection - the concept was too simple for my aging brain.

51A. Furry creature that isn't cool? : SQUARE FERRET (12).  I cannot find any reasonable link for this mental picture.
and the reveal:
56A. Convicted hastily and unfairly ... or, in a way, like the four other longest puzzle answers? : RAILROADED (10). Like the confusing semi-detached house....

On with the show.

Across:

1. Branch : LIMB. First thought was military - I don't know why.

5. Advisory group : BOARD.

10. Big name in luxury retailing : SAKS. Not so big anymore.

14. About 30% of Earth's land area : ASIA. I did not know this.

15. More fitting : APTER.

16. Thing with rings : TREE. Somewhat obscure but witty.

19. Letters facilitating sorting : ATTN.

22. Something to stretch out on : YOGA MAT. This was hard suss.

25. Comedian dubbed "Mr. Television" : BERLE. So easy for those of us over 65.

26. Mitchell protagonist : O'HARA. Frankly Jeffrey, when it comes to Scarlett, I don't give a damn.

27. Bone holders : PAWS. Cute.

30. With 61-Across, "Yer darn tootin'!" : YES. 61A. See 30-Across : SIREE.

31. Seaweed for sushi : NORI.

32. Puts down : ALIGHTS.

38. Most closely related : NEAREST.

39. Educational period : TERM.

42. Letters with Arizona or Maine : USS.

45. Made tracks : FLED.

46. One of composer John Williams' five : OSCAR.

47. Harlem Renaissance writer Zora __ Hurston : NEALE. Thank you high school English for having my sons read her work.

49. Does some lawn maintenance : AERATES. I hate it when I get to the first green...

55. Bee in Mayberry, e.g. : AUNT. Draw your own conclusions.
Internet hoax; the pin-up is Gloria DeHaven. Thanks to Fact Checker.
But we have this: 

I do not fact check images, especially those which have multiple references....I guess I will now.

60. It requires some effort : FEAT.

62. Confucius, by reputation : SAGE. Parsley only to his close friends.

63. See 29-Down : ELSE.  29D. With 63-Across, "Is there more?" : WHAT.

64. Fashionista's concern : TREND.

65. __-how : KNOW.

Down:

1. __ Cruces : LAS. We have been here before.

2. Prefix with metric : ISOmetric.

3. Defunct space station : MIR. Interesting LINK.

4. Conan, for one : BARBARIAN. Arnold...

5. Iraqi port : BASRA. Did you KNOW.

6. Dazzling style : OP ART.

7. Vince Gill's "Look __" : AT US.


8. Certain quadrilateral: Abbr. : RECTangle.

9. Half of sechs : DREI. Six/three - German.

10. Simple sign holder : STAKE. Another witty/tricky.

11. Major thoroughfare : ARTERY. The  traffic arteries...

12. Mother's whistler? : KETTLE. Who else but JW gives us a Whistler's Mother clue.

13. Familiar fivesome : SENSES.

18. City about 150 miles east of San Diego : YUMA. 171 miles.

21. "NCIS" airer : CBS TV.

22. It's other than hither : YON.

23. "So that's your game!" : OHO.

24. Apparel : GARB.

27. Accumulated, with "up" : PILED.

28. Many years : AGES.

32. Decimated sea : ARAL.

33. Erato's instrument : LYRE.

34. Assigns work (for), as students : SETS A TASK. So teachers, what do you think.

36. Cite, with "to" : REFER.

37. Religious subgroup : SECT.

40. "Norma __" : RAE.

41. Union title? : MRS. Funny three letter clue/fill.

42. Risky : UNSAFE.

43. "The Bourne Supremacy," e.g. : SEQUEL.
44. Hot spots : SAUNAS.

46. Dunked snack : OREO. Dunkin' Donuts? No, Starbucks.

48. Barista's offering : LATTE.

49. "Over the Rainbow" composer : ARLEN. The whole HISTORY.

50. Misspoke, say : ERRED. ? EED? Misspoke again.

52. While lead-in : ERSTwhile.

53. Cloudless : FAIR.

54. The Auld Sod : EIRE. Ireland.

57. "SNL" castmate of Gilda and Chevy : DAN. Ackroyd.

58. Swellhead's problem : EGO.

59. Wet blanket : DEW. A strong finish, as the dawn shows us the cover on the morning.

I had a bunch of fun - a bushel and a peck! There are so many devious but gettable clue/fill combinations, it was like looking for Easter eggs. Thank you JW, and each and everyone of you. Lemonade out.

59 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to JW and Lemonade!

A fast JW for a change. Liked the theme!

Thanks to all if you who expressed good wishes after my hospital visit!

Cute picture of you gals in California!

Only a few hours of sleep last night, so I won't bore you with the things that I had trouble with!

Dentist appt. not too bad.

Second on planet at Word Solitaire this evening. Can't get another 8 points to tie the guy with the mainframe (who is always first) to save my life. (Gave up some time ago.) It is interesting to note that the countries (whose flags are shown) represented in the top nine are: US,
GB, Canada, NZ, Portugal and Japan. (The last two surprised me.) I have not been looking at the flags for very long, though.

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

OwenKL said...

White Rabbit,🐇 Beige Rabbit.🐰

YES SIREE, for my phone, I need an adapter
To plug in a wall, and then my phone after!
But most conversations
Are solicitations!
I swear, a tin can and string would be APTER!

It's magnificent to see a TREE so FAIR,
With its LIMBS branched out to embrace the air!
Spring and summer, into fall
A GARB of LEAVES to cover all --
It AERATES pollen AT US, to remind us it's there!

{B+, B+.}

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

It took me 3 Googles and a two hours on-and-off, but I finished a JW!

NE was last corner to fill. 10a killed me. I kept thinking of Saks, but wanted to spell it like TJ MaXX. Shows you what I know about shopping. I finally got it w/ SA-S and an ABC-run on 12d... K-ETTLE (d'oh! Dollars-to-dounuts this was once clue'd as Ma's whistler? - Tell us Jeffrey, inquiring minds...)

Theme was cute and I saw the RR before filling reveal but still needed confirmation to get FERRET which was last word instead of 1st in other themers. I was trying to stuff squirrel into 51a but the LATTE was too strong.

Thanks Lem for a 'lluminating writeup. I had no idea AUNT Bee was such a hottie.

WOs: aHa b/f OHO, addED b/f PILED, sAWS b/f PAWS.
Googles: BASRA (you think I'd know that by now, but w/ no perps, um, No), ARLEN, DREI
ESPs: OPART, NORI (ok, I kinda recognize that; Now!), EIRE, OSCAR as clue'd.
Clunk: APTER - really?

Fav: I kinda liked the c/a for MRS. I jumped to Civil War before I got to civil marriage. Speaking of, DAN Ackroyd on SNL.

{A,A}

Night river-watch duties are over... Brazos is only 6" from crest and we're good. 'Nite.

Cheers, -T

Yellowrocks said...

What fun! FIR but couldn't understand the reveal until Lemon explained it. Great expo.
Favorites were union title/Mrs, mother'whistler/kettle and wet blanket/dew.
Back in the day, most people did not have TV. Every Tuesday one of my friends visited her aunt who lived two doors down for a spaghetti dinner. In the evening she invited me over to watch Milton Berle on the Texaco Star Theater. Our next door neighbor used to invite our whole family over to watch TV sometimes.
Apt, apter, aptest or apt, more apt, most apt. Macht nichts.
Ferm, "Second on planet at Word Solitaire this evening." I'm impressed.
The workmen are all outside now. I have my home back again. Yay!

Big Easy said...

Well I was definitely RAILROADED because even though I correctly finished the puzzle I was stumped about the RR. The puzzle was one of Wechsler's easier solves. PAWS for 'Bone holders' was my last fill and I still don't get it. Maybe 'Get your PAWS off my piece of chicken'.

'Look AT US' I may have heard before but it was perped.


Lemonade- when a golf course is offering special prices for foursomes, the greens have usually just been AERATED.

billocohoes said...

eons for AGES caused me a lot of problems in the middle. So did not knowing Gill's song and filling in "AT me" instead of AT US.

I saw Harold ARLEN on a talk show once telling how he spent days or weeks trying to work out "Somewhere on the other side of the rainbow" until he got the head slap.

Yesterday Steve and Bunny M mentioned the passenger pigeon; today is the 103rd anniversary of the death of Martha, the last one.

BunnyM said...

Good morning all!

Very clever (as usual) puzzle from Jeffrey- he always gives my brain a good workout. I needed the reveal to get some of the theme answers. This took me longer than most Fridays but it was fun.

Thanks, Lemonade for being our faithful guide!

Big easy- the "Bone holder"/PAWS is referring to a dog holding a bone in their paws :) Cute clue. I had Jaws at first- I was thinking of a happy dog chewing a bone, lol

AnonT- you mistakenly thanked me for the wonderful donation to Houston. That credit goes to our lovely, thoughtful Madame Defarge.
Sounds like things are looking up in your area if the paper and mail were delivered :)
I agree- APTER just sounds odd to me.

Unknowns were NORI, ARLEN. I can never remember BASRA and thought DREI was Trei- oops! Tried Aha/OHO. No other issues, just had to circle around a few times before finally finishing after the theme answers fell into place.

The wind is crazy here! Tree LIMBs all over our deck and yard. It makes me uneasy because we have so many trees surrounding our house and several need trimming. Hopefully no big limbs hit the roof. At least my wind chimes are playing a lovely tune.

Gotta run - lots of errands to attend to. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Northwest Runner said...

Entered sect prematurely at one across, but squared my feet and found my way through this very enjoyable puzzle.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

Some really stretchy clues today.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

When I see a JW byline, I know I'm in for some tricks and some treats and today was chock full of both. My w/o's were: Saana/Basra, Panel/Board, Wise/Sage, and Hammock/Yoga mat. Op art was slow in coming as I was thinking Dazzling style was referring to clothing or fashion. Favorite C/A's: wet blanket/dew, mother's whistler/kettle, Union title/Mrs., and bone holders/paws. (Big Easy, think of a dog with his paws protecting that juicy bone that he's gnawing on!) Fun to see Yuma again. I was totally unaware of the theme until the puzzle was completed and I finally saw the RR's. That was an OHO moment, for sure.

Thank you, Jeffrey W, for being delightfully devious and fiendishly funny and thanks, Lemony, for capturing and explaining Mr. Wechsler's word whimsy and wizardry so well.

Continued good wishes to all of those affected by Harvey.

Have a great day.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Past 10:00 EST, and so few comments?!?

Was in despair, but somehow made it through. Theme totally eluded me.

Somehow, this puzzle LEAVES me cold.

Avila has destroyed the Tigers. Hoping for a Cubs-Astros series so I can see some of my favorite players.

Happy holiday weekend, everyone.

JzB

Madame Defarge said...

Hi there!

I agree with Big Easy. I, too, was completely RAILROADED. I did pretty well, though, by grabbing the low hanging fruit first. Like Anon -T, I walked away for a bit. Sometimes I need to hit refresh. I'm also a bit rusty from my time as spent "grandmothering" and not "crosswording."

Favorite: Ma's Whistler for KETTLE. Saw the real gal when she was at the Art Institute this summer. Prints don't do her justice. Up close and personal, she is really a beautiful lady.

Hoping we hear from D-O soon. Hang in there Gulf Coasters! I've heard the Houston Food Bank is a good place for donations. If it's anything like the Chicagoland Food Depository, I'm sure it's worthy. I volunteer at a local food pantry, and CFD oversees the process. If anyone has other ideas for direct help, please let us know.

Thanks Jeffrey and Lemonade for a fairly smooth re-entry.


I'll check back later for your x-word insights!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

I kinda got the theme after getting SORRY SAUCE and BARRY LEAVES. Knew I was on the right track with BURR but couldn't nail it until I got KETTLE. Great clue/fill. JW did not disappoint today.
DREI - Mein Hut, er hat DREI Ecken. (MY hat has three corners.). (I think the school is in Kansas.)

GJ said...

Lemonade, you've ruined my memory of Aunt Bee forever! Just kidding! A real thinker today. Enjoyed the challenge and the write-up.

Yellowrocks said...

Ideas for hurricane relief:
from ABC News


Anonymous said...

Is the photo on the left really Aunt Bee? Wow!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A Jeff Wex Friday? Way cool! Mother’s whistler and Thing with rings? Wow!
-The RR theme trees hid in the word forest but I did FERRET it out
-With tenure and state laws, school BOARDS really don’t have much influence
-Early TV had a lot of vaudeville veterans like Uncle Milty in it
-Standing on the USS Arizona, near Pisa’s Leaning Tower and inside Ford’s Theatre filled me with emotion
-A post-AERATION golf green
-Aunt Bee and Sheriff Andy were not “besties” off camera but made peace after production ended
-Subbing in a H.S. keeps me up to date with fashion TRENDS
-The Trinity Site just NNE of Las Cruces was where America set off the first atom bomb. I read that Las Alamosans were not warned and had health issues for years afterwards
-Homework should still allow a child to be a child
-This seems to be a pretty definite SECT
-I passed out in a locker room after a prolonged SAUNA stay

Husker Gary said...

Addendum
-At the top of the blog today were pictures of the last 5 things I searched online. You?

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks, JW, for a workable puzzle, but did not get the theme until Lemonade explained to us. Thanks both for your great work!

Anon-T, glad to hear you're out of the woods.... so thankful. Around here it's clean-up. So many houses and so much work. Making dinner for some friends in Dickinson who got 16" of water, and are starting the work.

SwampCat said...

Wow! What a treat! A JW challenge to please us after the rough wet week.

No, of course, I didn't finish....but I came close, and I got to do battle for all the fun.

Whistler's Mother and Ma Kettle all in one clue? Pure genius.

I liked Letters for Arizona and Maine. What? One is hot, the other cold....oh, not states. Ships! And ships whose sinkings started wars. That is just too deep! (Or too Jeffrey Wechsler!)

I was so proud of myself for getting OP ART. But then Bone Holders defeated me. I saw all the RRs and got the reveal RAINROADED, but missed the connection. Ah well. It all seems so obvious once you explained it, Lemon. Thanks to you both for a great finish to the week.

Stay dry, all you Texans . We care.

SwampCat said...

And to those In SE Louisiana.... Hang in there! Boo luquette, are you okay??

WikWak said...

Big Easy: The dog's paws hold the bone being chewed. Bone holders.

AnonymousPVX said...

If yesterday was crunchy, then today is the super-crunchy style. Took a while - and a walk - but got the solve....more like earned the solve. Tough but fair clueing, kind of dumb theme entries - square ferret? - but that's what a gimmick puzzle gets you.

Unknown said...

North east got me and with Burnet ( don't ask why) for "Aaron" I was done for.

What is baseball coming to? Around 100 games below .500 teams give all their best players to above .500 teams ? Tigers are down to an aging star, a DH with heart problems and all starting pitchers with eras above 6 !

Lucina said...

Hooray! I managed to FERRET my way through a Friday JW puzzle! Tough but doable is right. The western hemisphere flowed in first. No problem with YOGA MAT. As soon as I had Y and G, I had it.

It took some deep concentration and a lot of guessing but YES, SIREE, it was a great FEAT. Thank you, Jeffrey.

And thank you, Lemonade, for spelling it all out for us. Now it makes SENSE(S).

Ferm: congratulations! Second on the planet! Impressive.

Have a fantastic day, everyone, as long as you are safe and alive!

Misty said...

Well, this was a Friday toughie for me--I don't even want to think about what tomorrow's Saturday will be like. But even so, it was enjoyable--many thanks, Jeffrey. I love AUNT Bee and so was happy to get that one. Also got Scarlett O'HARA and Zora NEALE Hurston. And I got John Williams' OSCARs. But it killed me that I didn't get ARLEN, even though I could probably sing all of "Over the Rainbow" with my raspy voice (never heard of the fellow who wrote the lyrics). I also should've gotten Milton BERLE, but it took perps to get that one. Had JAWS for he longest time, thinking of a dog chomping those bones. Well, this is all what makes puzzles fun.

Helpful write-up, Lemonade.

Stay safe in the wind, BunnyM, and same wish for everyone in other wind and water zones.

"Night with Janis Joplin" was tough to watch and listen to, Ol'Man Keith. The lights on stage were so bright they were blinding (I wasn't the only viewer who held the program up to her eyes) and the sound of the instruments to loud and throbbing I had to hold my ears shut. I ended up watching the second half of the program on the screen in the theater lobby where it was more manageable.

Have a good Friday, everyone!

Hungry Mother said...

Very tough for me, but I got the theme right away and that helped me through. A lot of consistently hard to get answers.

Jayce said...

I liked this JW puzzle. As y'all have said, plenty of crunch and terrific cluing. Like Anonymous T, I tried to squish SQUIRREL into 51a. Not knowing the Vince Gill song, and with _TU_ at 7d, I figured it was Look IT UP, but the BURR answer didn't exactly mesh with that. I hope Mr. Wechsler continues to construct puzzles for many years to come.

I just have to pass along the following. It's an email to its customers from the CEO of a company in Houston with whom we have been doing business for years.

"Thank you for the outpouring of support! WIDGETCO has been operational since Monday and on Thursday we had our full crew working - all are safe, thankfully.

Yes, we are shipping orders daily. We are personally running orders to Austin which is a three hour drive since Wednesday as USPS, FEDEX & UPS were not operational here in Houston. We expect FEDEX & UPS to be fully operational no later then Monday, and USPS perhaps a week later. We will continue to make daily runs as required.

WIDGETCO® will continue to focus helping our community. During the past week, we have observed heroic actions and generous acts of kindness, transparent across every social, ethnic and financial group. The Police, Coast Guard, Texas National Guard, Armed Forces, Fire Departments and Hospitals have worked tirelessly and made their presence felt. There are many other individuals, businesses, religious organization, and generous people from all over the world who have helped - to name them the list would be a mile long. Through the struggles of the past week, this has been a sobering, humbling and awesome experience to witness these acts of kindness and generosity. This is what defines America and I feel much gratitude to be a part of it.

Thank you again. Go Texas!"

By the way, that company is located at 5000 Gulf Freeway, Bldg. 6.

Nice going, fermatprime. Congratulations. Best wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta- (la-dee-dah)-DAH!!!
Very proud of the ol' walnut for cracking today's Wechsler without a single cheat! My oh My, but I am *#@! Good!
I share my praise with the others, like Lucina and Yellowrocks, who came through unscathed.
It was definitely not a breeze, and I admit I had real fear early on that I would have to Google something to get past the NW beginners' corner. But I isolated myself in that special downstairs room where there's no net access, and perseverance paid off.
I had to accept some strange fills w/o confirmation, like AERATED (who aerates their lawn? Is that a real thing?) and ALIGHTS (in place of our oft-presented ALIT). I didn't even think about the "RR" theme while filling in the four long bizarro answers.

My Friday triumph duly recorded, I want to thank Mr. Wechsler for his major contribution to the event. And Lemonade, your commentary was a fine addition to the day. I particularly appreciated your intimate herbal note in response to 62A! (And I've heard that he was often seen in the company of Mí dié xiāng, don'tcha know...?)

Jayce said...

Ol' Man Keith, your mí dié xiāng comment was pure genius and funnier than all get-out. Thank you!

Fact Checker said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Is the photo on the left really Aunt Bee? Wow!
NO! I didn't believe it at all.
The woman on the left is
Gloria DeHaven
not Frances Bavier



Ol' Man Keith said...

Jayce @2:31,

Bùyòng xiè!

Lucina said...

OMK:
Yes. AERATING the lawn is a real thing. Our landscapers AERATE ours periodically (every two years or so). It's actually the soil that is aerated. Over time ours clumps together and hardens even with frequent watering. Maybe it's a desert thing.

Anonymous T said...

BunnyM - Oh my!, I ERRED. Accept my apologies Madame Defarge -- the sentiment still stands; Thank you.

HG - LOL'd @37d pic - that is one narrow SECT.

Misty - That's disappointing that it was so loud and all ALIGHT. Other than that, how was the play MRS. Lincoln? :-)

Jayce - That's near (at?) the UH campus IIRC. The CEO's letter is spot-on.
On another note, tightly thatched grasses need to be AERATE'd to get air to the roots. In the south, we have St. Augustine/ Bermuda "grass" (Pop calls it "crab-grass") and if you're keen on a 'short' or low-mow, you'll need to AERATE.

Swamp - I enjoyed your 'deep' analysis of USS; Meta, Cat, meta. And I echo, How's Hatoolah & BooL doing? And D-O!

Some good news - I just heard from Ms. Maria (she comes to help with chores) - her family was spared from the flood too!

If Jayce says it's genius, I'll take him at his word. But, um, OMK, I don't get it...

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

That's two "I ERRED" for the day (well, in print anyway :-)) - it was OMK that asked re: AERATES. Thanks Lucina. Now the debate begins, loosen soil or letting roots 'breath'? Mind inquires. -T

Argyle said...

Thank you, Fact Checker. You are right. I have made an addition to the picture labeling it an internet hoax.

Tinbeni said...

Pinch, Pinch ...

D-N-F ... not even close ... the only theme I got was RAILROADED.

At least the "Sun is over the Yardarm" ...
Cheers!

Bobbi said...

Today I have to be Prissy Missy on today's entry. Struggled off and on from 9 a.m. to now (4 p.m.) in a hot, muggy house amidst household chores. Got so frustrated, I cheated on 32 A "Puts down". When I saw ALIGHTS, I threw it in the trash. Using intransitive and transitive verbs interchangeably ignited a fuse in this retired Teacher's soul. How dare they corrupt our grammar!!

SwampCat said...

Oh dear Bobbi ....I do feel for your frustration . I adore grammar for itself alone. But CWs are a game.

As an English Major and teacher I often have reservations about the wording and the parts of speech.. But .... Jeffrey is among the best wordsmiths we have . He knows nuances. Grammar is nowhere as important as our enjoyment of the pleasure we get in the words.

Please come back. Alight can be so many cases of transitive or intransitive.... verbs. Does it really matter ? If you solve the clue .... ??

I do hope you will return to enjoy our love of words.

Misty said...

Enjoyed your funny response, Anon T. Not my favorite musical.

SwampCat said...

Anon T, You keep us grounded in what really matters . Stay dry!!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Slept all day again but had done the puzzle at midnight. Didn't get the theme until Lemony explained. Thanks. I felt RAILROADED by the time I finished. A real thought provoking puzzle, Jeffrey, thanks.

Had trouble in the NE & SW. Just took some thinking and two red-letter runs to get word-starting letters.

Referral clues like YES SIREE & WHAT ELSE are very annoying when struggling to find perps.

Went to a BARRY Manilow concert once and came home in a blizzard. Usual hour-long trip took two hours. I was trying to think how BARRY ended his concert with a special song that I couldn't remember. Duh! LEAVES? Well, sure.

Lemonade714 said...

Thank you Fact Checker and Argyle; I was in closings all day and was unaware of my gullibility. I have added more purported Frances Bavier pictures. I will now double check things that seem too good to be true. I still love you and Bee. P.S. since her name was Beatrice, why Aunt Bee and not Aunt Bea.

SwampCat said...

Oh , Lemonade!! How careful you are . I'm sure we all love seeing Aunt Bee . Aunt Bea?? Okay.....but does anyone care ? Lol

We love you !!

Spitzboov said...

Re: Bobbi @ 1830.
If a plane puts down, it alights or lands.
Arguably all three synonyms are used in the intransitive sense. But also, arguably, the reflexive 'itself' is understood, so the verbs would all be transitive. I think the fill is consistent with the clue, and Messrs Wechsler and Norris have contributed to the genius of this Friday puzzle, by playing on this subtlety.

SwampCat said...

Bless you, Spitzboov!!!!

PK said...

Peg, cooking for those friends flooded out is such a kindness that will help with the healing. Good for you! Hard work is always easier on a full stomach.

Yellowrocks said...

Put down can mean alights at the airport. Puts down at the airport.
We put down the plane. Transitive. (Rare)
We put down at the airport. Intransitive (Common)
Why all the angst?

Dictionary.com
"Put down
to land an aircraft or in an aircraft:
We put down at Orly after six hours."

Also, put in, to land at a port.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Misty,
Thanks for the report on the Joplin show. How strange the show's tech operation assaulted the audience. I wonder if the director had sight and hearing problems - enough to overrule the designers.
Do you think it was intentional? Janis Joplin's style might be interpreted as inflicting some pain on her fan base. There was a period in the '60s & early '70s when the theater flirted with audience aggression, a simplistic reading of Artaud's Theater of Cruelty.
You don't suppose ...?

Misty said...

Ol'Man Keith, the audience at these plays is usually pretty senior, and I had the impression that about half the audience loved it, noise and glare and all, and the other half tolerated it only. The show was apparently put on by a touring company and it's possible that some of their venues have younger crowds that love the over-dramatic noise and lights. Since I was the only one who left to watch the second half in the lobby, I had to consider myself a lone geezer (are women called geezers too?). Anyway, be glad you didn't buy tickets and lose an afternoon to this performance.

PK said...

Misty: Could it be that the venue was smaller than the touring company normally played? My niece's wedding band was so loud some of us went outside and danced on the sidewalk. My SIL asked the band to turn it down and they said they couldn't. They said they usually played bigger halls and never had complaints. This was in the 70's when loud music was the norm.

Anonymous T said...

Forever young says...

If it's too loud, you're too old... Yer talkin' 'bout my generation

[Think that's when Pete got deaf in his right ear?]

Spitz (and all my Puzzle Pals) confession - I've not a clue what a transitive verb is... Is that action in drag?

//I'll see myself out
-T

Boo LuQuette AKA Boudreaux in Eunice, La. said...

I have been busy working on generators and mowers. Sorry I haven't chimed in earlier.

Yes I am ok we didn't get hardly anything from the storm. The eye passed about 40 miles west of me. Hardly no rain just some 30 + winds. I am glad that our Texas friends are all safe.

I have friends from our Bayou Gardener Forum that I know personally that live in Spring Tx. Lumberton Tx. South Houston. The Woodlands Tx. A few more that are safe and sound.

If anyone on here wants to join the Bayou Gardener forum just go to the Bayou Gardener and join the forum. We have 2 Get Togethers every year and it a blast. We have people from around the planet that attend. Plenty of food and giveaways...

OK back to the puzzle. At Me also instead of US. I am a Vince Gill fan also.

Paws was one of my favorite Clues and the second was Mother's Whistler....

Got thru with the whole puzzle in about 2 hours time on and off......

Here is a link for ya'll that might want to join our Garden forum.

The Bayou Gardener - Index - WebCajun.com



TX Ms said...

Anon-T@12:36 am - almost spit out my precious sin-provisions wine - though receiving A's in English class, I never could understand the difference between intransitive and transitive. Or, for that matter, split infinitives. Working for an anal attorney who had an English teacher mom years ago, I was quickly brought up to speed on the latter - though I'm probably remiss occasionally.

Loved your SNL clip - yes, those were the days (Mary Hopkin, are you ok?), kinda bawdy, but so much funnier than the lame skits now. Never watch.

Anon-T, are you off y'all's river watch and finally able to get a full night's sleep? Hope so!

Anonymous T said...

BooL - It's SO good to hear from you and to know you and yours are safe. A Coonass with hands (and mind) that can do you what you do with a generator/motor is much appreciated by those in need. Good to know you are unscathed. -T

Wilbur Charles said...

I had ADDED instead of PILED (Up). That led to Barry DANCES then he DRIVES when I got CBS TV.

I kept thinking of a Put-down.

I got the "remove the R's" theme but couldn't come up with what Barry does and BAY has.

I got SEQUEL at Sonny's. Similarly, YOGA MAT which validated YON as the former did SAUNAS.

Congrats to Barry on the crunchiest xword in weeks and very clever one to boot. I couldn't think of a simple word to go with ELSE.

I really need that WITE-OUT*

Congrats also to Keith for the TaDa sans cheat.

Owen, I really liked your pair today. Btw... Remember prescience? I mentioned Conan the Barbarian the other day. I actually find it happens a lot or is that my no-wite-out EGO* talking.

Misty, I am curious about how the musical treated the Bobby McGee (romance?). Sorry, it was unwatchable, I truly sympathize.

Speaking of musicals, I have my outline of Ivanhoe, the musical, in my head. I was thinking of writing it in a train to Boston at the end of the month.

Hint: Cedric is not the hero.

WC in the gloaming

* These were recent entries

Picard said...

Got RAILROADED right away and then struggled a long time to figure out the theme!

Hand up for getting BARRY quickly but struggling with LEAVES! Very fun as were the rest of the theme answers!

Loved the KETTLE clue with Whistler! I worked at the National Geodetic Survey for two summers to help with college expenses. Whistler's photo was framed on the wall there as he had worked there, too in a much earlier era!

I was thinking Steve Allen was the King of TV. Had no idea that BERLE had that title.

Lemonade714 said...

Milton Berle was Mr. Television and a part of the ex-vaudevillians who carried television into people's homes. Bob Hope, George Burns, Sid Caesar and others were all on TV because of UNCLE MILTIE was paving the way. If you are interested and did not live through it as so many of us did, you can read this BOOK .

Boo, good to hear from you

Picard said...

Thank you for the explanation about Milton Berle. Wikipedia backs up what you say and his story is interesting to read.

Yes, I knew of Berle as a child in the 1960s, but I knew Steve Allen better. I had thought Allen was an early TV pioneer by starting such programs as the Tonight Show. But apparently Berle did it all first.

Steve Allen impressed me most for his ability to create songs with little or no effort. I got to meet him once and he was surprised that this impressed me so much. He said the hard part of creating a song is promoting it.

Here http://swt.org/robert/fame/allen.jpg is a photo of us at that dinner conversation.